It’s know been a while since my last entry, and it’s not that’s that I forgot, we just haven’t had anything meaningful or worthwhile to write about.
The current highlight is that there are only five more school days until the term break. Then it’s a glorious three weeks off of school, two of which will be spent on the beaches in Bali.
The past few weeks have been standard; your usual mix of work dramas, tummy aches, bitter weather and yummy food to shake it up. As the seasonal affective disorder creeps in, the promise of sunshine and travel keep us getting up in the mornings to do it all over again.
I have compiled a list of observations and niggles that have been heavy on my mind over the past few weeks:
- I’m not sure why we pay thousands of dollars to rent an apartment when we could just live on a campsite if we wanted to be cold all the time. Joking aside, buildings here are constructed with materials no better than cardboard and glue. Who would’ve thought the thing we’d miss the most about Canada is central heating, insulation and triple pane windows. It is truly astonishing how poor building standards are in comparison. Thank goodness for space heaters and wearing jackets indoors…
- I miss good t.v. So many of our favourite shows don’t stream in Australia which is sad news.
- Figuring out the health system here is confusing with parallel private and government streams. Knowing what’s covered, what isn’t, what insurance covers and what is out of pocket is tricky. Learning how to navigate it is more challenging than we thought it would be.
- I’m still on the hunt for a career outside of teaching, no progress on that front. All I have to show for my efforts are a folder of rejection letters in my inbox and a dwindling belief I can make the transition which doesn’t feel great. A bit of a drain on the old self-confidence.
- Making friends is hard, balancing work-life is hard and feeling like you belong or have a sense of community is a challenge. Of course, becoming a teacher was my choice, moving away from home was our choice, chasing a dream was our risk. It all adds to this overarching sense of disenchantment and feeling a tad untethered as things aren’t quite coming together as we’d hoped. At least not yet anyways, so we push on.
The next journal entry will be full of Bali happiness, a much needed change of tone from this entry. I’m excited to share what adventures we get up to. Our plan is to eat yummy food, go chasing waterfalls and the endless summer of sunsets and sunshine.
I also wanted to let people know that Air New Zealand and Air Canada are having some pretty decent deals to come down to Aus. So if you’re thinking about making the journey, why not come for term 3 holidays? Just a thought!
Miss you. With love,
Alex & Michael
